In an Association year, two Congresses are organized in EESTEC: the 'Autumn Congress' and the 'Spring Congress'. Congresses are the biggest events of the Association, where representatives of all Local Committees gather to discuss and make crucial decisions about the Association's future. These events last about a week and aim to complete the Association's internal processes, including elections and discussions about development and activation. Members participate in democratic votings and discussions to determine EESTEC's evolution.
Before 2016, only one Congress was organised per year.
In EESTEC, events important for decisions and knowledge transfer require LC representatives to represent their interests. Representatives attend congresses and build the General Assembly (GA). They can vote in elections and decisions during the Congress. Not sending representatives to these events violates the RoPs. Any committee member can be chosen as a representative, though most send Board members.
The General Assembly takes decisions through votes of its Members. There are two major voting procedures: closed ballot votting, in which it is secret what each Member votes, and open ballot voting, in which no guarantees for secrecy are in place. Many different digital and analog systems of voting have been tried throughout the years, optimizing along the way as engineers do.
Regardless of the openess of the ballot, each Member has one vote. This vote may be cast according to conditions laid out by the GA Chairperson (e.g. in physical closed ballot voting: the number of folds a bollot paper may be in^^) and may be either in favor, against or abstained.
Most decisions of the GA are taken with absolute majority, which is defined in the statutes as the cast votes in favor exceeding the sum of cast votes against and abstained. Few especially important decisions are taken by two-thirds majority, i.e. the votes in favor must be double or more the sum of cast votes against and abstained.
Notable votes taken at Congresses can include:
- Election of the Board of the Association
- Termination of Membership of individual Branches
- Approval of and Changes to the Budget
Board Reports provide an overview of the Association's situation, incidents, and insights from the Board's work. They include quarterly reports sent in writing and presentations at Congress. Board Reports cover:
- Board work-related information
- Goals and Annual Plans
- Association's current situation
- Initiatives and sessions
- EESTEC events
Cerdo is the gossip part of EESTEC. During Congress, EESTECers send anonymous gossip to Cerdo, which is published online after Congress.